The Road Towards Reconciliation
by Tracy Diane Miller
Summary: Sometimes, all it takes is an honest conversation and


**The Road Towards Reconciliation**

Summary: Sometimes, all it takes is an honest conversation and  
willingness to bridge the gap of hostilities. "All Good Things"  
inspired this very short Homefront story.

Disclaimer: Homefront characters belong to their creators. No  
copyright infringement intended. No profit is being made.

Author's Notes: Special thanks goes to Sharon for offering this idea and  
especially for her unwavering and infectious enthusiasm for Homefront

Author: Tracy Diane Miller  
E-mail address: tdmiller82h...

The Road Towards Reconciliation

Life is funny sometimes. Not funny in the sense of "ha ha", but  
funny in the perverse power, irony really, that Fate seems to wield.  
One day you're boasting a .297 batting average in your rookie season  
with a major league baseball team, engaged to a beautiful and swell  
dame, and looking forward to your wedding and honeymoon "practicing"   
at creating your own team of little short stops. But the next day,  
you're crying in your beer as the dame refuses to give up her screwy  
show business career to become your wife, starts dating your  
teammate, and appears as the spokes person on the barnstorming tour  
that you signed on to months earlier. The stage becomes set for more  
absurdity when you slip on a tomato, tear the ligaments in your knee,  
get hired and later fired as the co-star on the radio show featuring  
your estranged fiancée, and told by the doctor that you'll never play  
professional baseball again. Then, it's back to your dead-end job as  
a bartender pouring drinks for other hopeless saps and listening to   
their sad stories.

Like it isn't enough that you're one of Fate's inconsequential pawns  
that she toys with at her whim but then it seems that she decides,  
maybe out of boredom, to throw more tragedies your way. Your mother  
is stricken with polio and your stepfather is a Communist.  
Well, "accused Communist"; he won't deny the charge because of  
his "principles". How screwy is that?

What happens next? Fate has changed her mind once more and decided  
to cut you a break, let you off the hook so to speak, in the downward  
spiral that she had charted for your life. That knee of yours is  
getting stronger every day, courtesy of a special ointment and a lot  
of prayer. Mom always said that God hears prayers even when you  
think that he isn't listening. You're given another shot at baseball—  
an opportunity to play in the minors for a while with the goal of   
returning to the majors. And the dame? Well, she understands how   
much of a fool you were breaking up with her. She agrees to marry   
you instead of that ham fisted yahoo that she became entangled with  
while on the rebound. It was even worth it to get socked in the eye  
by the guy just to see the expression on the jerk's face when you  
announced that you had reclaimed your girl. Of course, now you're  
sporting quite a shiner. No matter-—at this moment, life is good.

Jeff stared out of the car window as Al drove him towards the train  
station. The young rookie felt excited and anxious, the same  
emotions that he had experienced when he was about to leave for  
spring training in Clearwater. This was his shot at the big leagues-  
-again. He just needed to play in a couple of games for the minors,  
show them what he's got, and he'd be back in the majors in no time.

The silence in the car was deafening. Finally, Al decided that he  
had enough of the quiet. "Maybe I can apply for a job as a cab  
driver. I'm pretty good at this and I hear that the tips are swell."

No response from his passenger.

"Of course, I suspect that patrons like it better when cabbies keep  
their mouths shut. You know, all that talking interferes with the  
important daydreaming that they're doing in the backseat."

Still silent.

"How about Feller's no hitter, huh? I tell you, it's going to go  
down in the history books. I'll tell you something else. Baseball  
will have a union someday soon. You mark my words. And the ball  
players will be all the better for it." Al said.

"Says you. Baseball doesn't need a union. The ballplayers play  
because they love the game. They love the crowds. It's not about  
politics." Jeff countered.

"If you believe that, then you're a sap. It's always about politics,  
kid. It's always about the working class licking management's boots  
for a few crumbs. It's about the boys at the top having fat wallets  
while the little guy is sweating for peanuts. And when you no longer  
can feed management's wallet, they get rid of you without a by your  
leave. A union exists to give the average Joe a fighting chance." 

Jeff let out a wry laugh. "Always trying to drum up support for a  
union, aren't you? Just like when I first met you at the Roadhouse."

"And you're still stubborn and resistant to change just like when I  
first met you. Change doesn't always have to be bad. You don't have  
to be afraid of things changing, Jeff. Change can be good. It can  
be an opportunity to have a better life."

A brief silence.

"Is that what you gave my mom, Al, a better life?" Jeff asked, a   
trace of hostility in his voice.

Al pulled the car over to the side of the road. He stopped the car  
and turned off the ignition.

"I'm going to miss my train."

"Do you want me to say that I'm sorry that I came to River Run? That  
I'm sorry that I fell in love with your mother and that I married her   
and we had Mike? Well, I'm not going to say that. I came to this   
town because I believed more than anything that the workers needed a  
union and I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that  
they got one. Falling in love with Anne-I never planned that. I  
never planned to get married again. I never expected to get caught  
up in that crazy world that you Catholics have where you see all of  
us non-Catholics as sinners determined to destroy the natural order  
and where you lie but call it a mental reservation to ease your  
guilty conscience. You think that I planned to fall in love with a  
stubborn, exasperating woman like your mother? But I did. I love  
her very much. And I'm sick and tired of having to apologize to you  
because of that or because you see me as your enemy."

A brief silence.

"Look, we're not perfect, but Mom raised us to be good Catholics.  
We're not killing people or anything." Jeff paused briefly before  
continuing. "And-and I don't see you as the enemy. Maybe I did  
once, but I don't anymore. It's just that, well, when you came into  
our lives, it seemed like everything changed. You say that change  
can be good, that it can be an opportunity to have a better life, but  
I didn't see where you brought that to our family. You got Linda  
involved with the union and with Hank working for management; it  
became World War III at our house. You started dating Mom and you and  
she...the next thing we knew, Mom was going to have a baby. It  
seemed that because of you, Mom sacrificed her principles and did  
things that she never did before and told us not to do." There was  
another brief pause as Jeff considered his next words. "And the  
truth of the matter is, that I guess…I guess I never wanted to see my   
mother dating anyone because no one was ever good enough for her,   
except my dad. I didn't want to see Mom with anyone else except   
Dad. I know that it won't make any sense to you, but that's the way  
I feel and I'm not apologizing for feeling that way."

"I'm not asking you to forget your father, Jeff. I never tried to  
replace him. And if I died and Anne remarried, I would hope that  
Mike would remember me and remember how much I loved him. But I'd  
also hope that he'd be happy that his mother found love again and  
that she was happy. I would hope that he knew that his stepfather  
loved him and cared about what happened to him."

No response.

"I don't want to be your father. And maybe it's too late for this,  
but I do want to be your friend, if you'll let me."

Still silent.

Al let out a frustrated sigh. He placed the key in the ignition and  
started the car. The rest of the drive, done in silence, made the  
trip seem like an eternity. Finally, they had reached the train  
station.

Jeff reached for his bag that was next to him on the back  
seat. "Thanks for the ride." He said.

Both men exited the car. "Good luck. We're very proud of you." Al  
said simply.

Mud green eyes stared into the eyes of his stepfather. Jeff briefly  
hesitated before he extended his hand to Al. "Thanks. Good luck to  
you, too." He replied awkwardly.

Jeff began to walk away. He stopped abruptly, rubbing his hand  
across the back of his neck. Jeff turned back around. "Hey, Al?"

"Yeah?"

"I think a union for baseball would be swell."

Al smiled.

It was only a small step, but sometimes, all it takes is an honest  
conversation and willingness to bridge the gap of hostilities to lead  
people on the road towards reconciliation.

The End


End file.
